How Will I Know?
by WhyteRoze28
Summary: This story takes place in August 2000, and in this AU, the band dissolved after Ryan left, so there wasn't anything after Season 5. Ryan and Stacy meet again at a KI reunion.
1. Chapter 1

I only recently got back into this fandom, and was so amazed that with the number of fans that Kids Incorporated had back in the day, that there are so few fanfictions written about them. And this coupling was the most pronounced on the show (even if it was never acknowledged). Of course, there are the shippers that prefer Stacy/Rhasaan, but this is the couple I like. This story takes place in August 2000, and in this AU, the band dissolved after Ryan left, so there wasn't anything after Season 5.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kids Incorporated. If I did, it wouldn't have ended.

How Will I know?

Whyteroze28

Chapter 1

She stared at her surroundings with a slight trepidation. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all...

Stacy hadn't been home in almost six years. Too busy with college, and now work, but she'd forced herself to take time off for this. It was her father's fiftieth birthday, and he'd wanted his family there with him. So she'd come back from NYC, and Renee had cut her book signing tour short, and home they'd come.

But now, the party was over, and they both had time to spare. Stacy had told her boss that she was taking the whole month, since she'd just finished up the last of her submissions for the new fall line, and her boss had granted her the time.

Renee's publisher wasn't expecting her next book yet, so Stacy knew the only problem there was the tour... which Renee had promised to finish in September.

And here she stood in a parking lot, just enjoying the feelings threatening to overwhelm her. It was a small rush of nostalgia, but a powerful one. She could almost hear the music again.

In their younger days, Stacy and Renee had been members of a very popular neighborhood band... One that had been as much a part of them as breathing sometimes. They had performed at The P*lace, a soda shop, which had once been called The Palace, and been a showcase for some of the most memorable names of its time. And now...

She glanced up. Someone was standing behind the bar, dishing out sundaes, and her little brother was laughing at the man's jokes. It brought back fond memories. She and Renee had decided the night before to come here, to reminisce, and she was waiting for her sister now, because she didn't think she could handle going in on her own.

"Stace? Why are you just standing there?" Renee's voice broke through her memory, and she turned to look at the other girl, who was grinning at her. She knew Renee understood though. The P*lace had been their home away from home for so long that it was almost intimidating to them now.

Suddenly, the man behind the soda counter looked up, and stared at them. They couldn't believe their eyes.

"Is that...?"

"Mickey?"

They raced for the front door, and rushed inside, as the man smiled at them. "Hey, don't I know you?" he joked, as they ran to hug him.

"Oh my god! What are you doing here?" Stacy asked, laughing as he picked her up and swung her around.

"Yeah," Renee added, "What happened to Riley?"

Mickey just motioned for them to sit down, still smiling. "He finally did it! He invented something a few years ago that the whole world went crazy for, and since I was always around, he hired me to take over for him. Then I bought out the owner, so now I am the owner."

The two girls stared in amazement. Riley had finally invented something that worked? And Mickey, who had been the leader of their group when they'd first started out, had bought The P*lace? It was like some strange dream.

"So, how long are you gals in town for?" he asked, moving back behind the bar.

"A few weeks," Stacy replied, picking up a menu. She opened it and smiled. The food hadn't changed much since she'd left. There were still ice cream names on the list that she remembered from her childhood... including Rocky Rhasaan Ripple. The flavor that had been named for her best friend.

Suddenly, she felt an ache. She hadn't thought about Rhasaan, or many of the others, in so long. She wondered what they were doing nowadays.

Renee must have been on the same wavelength, because she asked Mickey if he'd heard from any of the others recently. The girls knew he had written to Gloria a few times after he'd moved away, and he nodded, as he mentioned that they still kept in touch. And then, he pulled something out from under the counter. It was a list of all their names, with addresses.

"Apparently, Riley was the only one who kept in touch with all of us," Renee laughed, as she quickly read down the list. Stacy barely heard. Her eyes had fallen on the paper, and one name had caught her eyes. Ryan. Her first crush.

No-one knew, of course. She'd been twelve years old for crying out loud. But he'd always been so kind to her, and she'd hero worshiped him. Everyone had just taken it as her treating him like a big brother, which she'd laughed about, almost as much as everyone else had. Of course, it had hurt when he'd laughed as well, but sometimes she remembered seeing something... or maybe it was just her imagination. That had been 14 years ago. Too long of a time to remember so clearly.

She forced herself to look up as Mickey came back to the counter. He smiled at her, and handed her a video. She frowned, confused.

"Apparently, Riley also kept a recording of every song we ever performed," he said. "This is just the first one."

"Oooh!" Renee squealed. "Can we borrow them? It'll be so fun to see what we looked like back then."

Mickey laughed. "Yeah, just make sure you bring them back. Those are the only copies."

That night, the girls were in Renee's old room, watching the videos. They couldn't help giggling over some of the things they had worn.

"Who thought red and purple went together?" Stacy groaned, as she saw her performance outfit.

"I think we all did, back then," Renee snickered. Then she sighed. "It was such a happy time, wasn't it?"

Then they both froze, as they saw Mickey on stage in his dreadlocked wig, singing 'Heavy Metal Madness'. "He recorded this!" Stacy shrieked. "This was the worst idea Mickey ever had!"

They joked through the next few songs, but stopped again, as they watched themselves glaring at each other behind Mickey.

"I remember this," Renee said, suddenly quiet. "Isn't this the time when we almost tore the band apart?"

Stacy nodded. "Yeah, they weren't all such happy times."

They continued to watch, as the video played on. They saw themselves performing with Siedah Garret, and at the festival. Then it was their first performance after Mickey had moved away. She remembered this so well. They had argued about replacing him, but in the end it had all worked out. Stacy had to bite back a gasp, as she saw the video of a darkened stage. When had this happened?

Then she saw Ryan moving across the stage, reverently touching the instruments. "So that was what changed The Kid's mind," Renee said. "I always wondered what made Rhasaan give him a chance."

The videos kept going. They watched themselves mature, and continued to critique their performances, but Stacy's gaze kept returning to Ryan. Then she saw it again. That small flash of... something, that she'd thought she'd imagined. She and Ryan were onstage, singing "Call Me", and he'd turned to look at her. And his eyes had lit up.

"Wow," Renee said, glancing at her sister. "Seems like someone had a bit of a crush."

Stacy's head jerked up, and she stared. "What?"

"You can't see it? Ryan looks like he had a bit of a crush on you."

Stacy stared at the screen. Had he really liked her? "No, I'm sure he was just acting out the song. We did a lot of that, if you remember. He sang some really romantic songs with you and Gloria too."

Renee shook her head. "Stace, I'd remember if he looked at me like that. We were pretty close after all, just like you and Rhasaan."

"Not now though," Stacy sighed. "I miss them. All of them."

"Well, we have their addresses, and phone numbers. Why don't we call them up, see if any of them would like to come back for a visit."

Stacy jumped up. "Like a reunion?"

"Yeah."

As the videos continued to play, the two girls planned what they wanted to do. They had three whole weeks of free time, and they were going to do this right. They divided up the list of former bandmates, and decided to call them all the next day. They would plan the reunion for the last weekend before they had to leave, and they hoped that everyone could make it.

Before they had finished planning, however, Stacy heard the intro to a very familiar tune, and she looked up to see herself and Devyn, sitting on the stage. Her heart skipped a beat, as Ryan came and sat down in between them. She watched him singing to her, and then Devyn. The look on his face changed as he switched between them. As he looked at the younger girl, he seemed so... brotherly. But she felt her face redden, as she saw the heat in his eyes as he looked at her.

Renee, watching her sister blush, smirked. "You really couldn't see it?" she asked.

Stacy shook her head. "I had a lot on my mind back then. You and Rhasaan had both just left, Connie and Devyn were fighting, Richie fell in love, and we had to deal with Tommy..."

"Yeah, the guitarist in the wheelchair, I remember you mentioning that. Boy, you had it tough that year. Why didn't you tell me this then?"

Stacy sighed. "Because you sounded so happy every time you called. I just didn't want to burden you with our problems, when you couldn't do anything about it."

Renee opened her arms, and hugged her little sister. She'd had the feeling at the time that something was going on, but hadn't been able to do anything about it, being in England. 'But maybe I _can_ do something about this,' she thought to herself.


	2. Chapter 2

I only recently got back into this fandom, and was so amazed that with the number of fans that Kids Incorporated had back in the day, that there are so few fanfictions written about them. And this coupling was the most pronounced on the show (even if it was never acknowledged). Of course, there are the shippers that prefer Stacy/Rhasaan, but this is the couple I like. This story takes place in August 2000, and in this AU, the band dissolved after Ryan left, so there wasn't anything after Season 5.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kids Incorporated. If I did, it wouldn't have ended.

How Will I know?

Whyteroze28

Chapter 2

Rhasaan sighed heavily as he fell onto his sofa. It had been a hard day of meetings and contract negotiations. The new band he had been hired to promote was demanding more coverage, and a television appearance. He groaned. Some days he wondered if he'd picked the right line of work. It had been more fun being in a band than working for one.

He looked over at the photograph on his wall, and smiled. It was one that he'd kept for years. He was smiling at the camera, with his arm around his best friend Stacy. Beside them, Ryan, Gloria and Renee, were also smiling. He winced as the memories hit him again. Those had been some of the best years of his life. Sure, there'd been some good times when Mickey had been lead singer, but when Ryan had arrived... The five of them had seemed invincible. And then Gloria had left, and things had subtly changed. And then Renee had gone to England, and he'd left for the student exchange program, and he knew that things would never go back. When he'd returned at the end of his year in Africa, he'd gone to The P*lace, but the only person he'd recognized had been Riley. Then he'd learned that the band had dissolved. Ryan had moved away, and Stacy and the younger kids had decided that they weren't able to keep up with their schoolwork, and the band.

The last time he had seen Stacy, she had been packing for college. They had spent hours reminiscing, and had exchanged addresses, promising to keep in touch, but it hadn't worked out.

And now, staring at the picture, he sighed again, wondering what had happened to everyone.

Suddenly, the phone rang, startling him out of his introspective moment. He picked it up, expecting the lead singer of 'Gravy Stains' and bit back a snappy retort. "Rhasaan speaking."

"Rhasaan? It's me, Stacy."

His eyes widened. "Stace? Oh, man, I was just thinking about you... and the rest of the guys."

As the two talked, he felt his smile widen. This was just what he needed.

Renee was getting frustrated. She'd called Gloria and Connie, and they'd both agreed to come back for the weekend, but she was having trouble getting through to Ryan. His phone rang and rang. She hadn't left a message, because she'd wanted to surprise him. But now it seemed the only way to find him might be to go looking for his actual apartment.

Suddenly, she heard a click on the other end of the line.

"Uh, Hello?"

"Ryan?"

"Yeah, who's this?"

"Renee."

"Renee... From... No, it can't be." She heard the shock in his voice. But she also heard music playing loudly in the background.

"Could you not hear the phone over the music?" she joked.

"Oh, sorry!" he exclaimed, sounding like he was moving to turn it down. As the phone got closer to the radio, she smiled. She knew that song.

"So, what's up? I mean, I haven't heard from anyone from the old days... except Riley, of course, in years."

"Well, Stacy and I came home for our father's birthday, and..." As she told him about their idea, she couldn't help hearing how his breathing seemed to change every time she mentioned her sister's name.

"Yeah, I could come back for a few days," he replied, when she'd finished. "I just finished writing my latest song, and I could use the break."

"Writing your... Are you still singing?"

"Nah, just writing them now. I leave the singing to other people now," he said, sighing. "I haven't sung since the band. Unless you count singing with the radio."

"Well, you know you'll probably have to do it at least one, for old time's sake."

She heard the hesitation in his voice, as he said, "I'll think about it. So, when should I be there?"

She gave him the date, and her cell phone number, in case something came up. Then she hung up, grinning, with the strains of 'Say You Will' still ringing in her ears. After watching the video last night, she had a feeling she knew how much _that_ song meant.


	3. Chapter 3

I only recently got back into this fandom, and was so amazed that with the number of fans that Kids Incorporated had back in the day, that there are so few fanfictions written about them. And this coupling was the most pronounced on the show (even if it was never acknowledged). Of course, there are the shippers that prefer Stacy/Rhasaan, but this is the couple I like. This story takes place in August 2000, and in this AU, the band dissolved after Ryan left, so there wasn't anything after Season 5.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kids Incorporated. If I did, it wouldn't have ended. And I don't own the songs in this chapter either. The first one is Eternal Flame, by the Bangles, and the second is Must Be Love, by the California Dreams (another 80s/90s TV band) from the show of the same name.

How Will I know?

Whyteroze28

Chapter 3

The next few weeks were spent in a blur of motion. Mickey had agreed to let them use The P*lace for the reunion, so every night around closing time, the girls would visit, so they could work on getting things set up.

Finally, it was the night before. Rhasaan had arrived that afternoon, and he and Stacy spent the whole afternoon, and most of the evening talking about old times. The girls showed him the videos, and he laughed as hard as they had at some of their old costumes. And he agreed with Renee that Ryan had obviously liked Stacy. But his opinion was that he'd probably moved on by now.

"After all," he said, as they sat on the girl's front porch, "It's been years. No one hangs onto a crush for that long."

Stacy had gone inside to make them some sandwiches, and Renee took the opportunity to tell him about her conversation with Ryan. He began nodding, and by the time she had finished he was smiling. "You may be onto something. So what do we do about it?"

"Well..."

The next morning, they were all up early, and heading to The P*lace to prepare. They were all running through the songs they were preparing to sing. Everyone except Ryan had known which song they wanted to do when the girls had asked, so they were setting up the musical arrangements.

Rhasaan and Mickey had decided the night before to do 'Some Guys Have All the Luck' in addition to their solo songs, and Renee was watching them finish, when she saw a movement out of the corner of her eye. As the guys came off the stage, she motioned for Rhasaan to go look outside.

A few minutes later, he came back in, nodding.

"Hey, Stace," Renee said, "let's work on your song now. It isn't one we've done before, so you should practice some more."

Stacy looked up from her seat next to the stage. "I guess. But... Renee, what if things are different now. I mean... I know what we saw, and I'm sure it was real, but... it's been so long."

"Stacy," Rhasaan said, smiling. "You'll never know if you chicken out. And it's a beautiful song either way."

She looked between the two of them, and laughed at the enthusiastic looks on their faces. "All right. I'm just glad I'll have time to prepare before everyone else gets here."

She walked up on stage, and looked out into the empty soda shop, letting the music's opening notes wash over her.

_Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling _

_Do you feel my heart beating _

_Do you understand _

_Do you feel the same _

_Am I only dreaming _

_Is this burning an eternal flame _

_I believe it's meant to be, darling _

_I watch you when you are sleeping _

_You belong with me _

_Do you feel the same _

_Am I only dreaming _

_Or is this burning an eternal flame_

_Say my name, sun shines through the rain _

_A whole life so lonely _

_And then you come and ease the pain _

_I don't want to lose this feeling ...ooooohhhh..._

_I believe it's meant to be, darling _

_I watch you when you are sleeping _

_You belong with me _

_Do you feel the same _

_Am I only dreaming _

_Or is this burning an eternal flame_

_Say my name, sun shines through the rain _

_A whole life so lonely _

_And then you come and ease the pain _

_I don't want to lose this feeling ...ooooohhhh..._

_Close your eyes, give me your hand_

_Do you feel my heart beating _

_Do you understand _

_Do you feel the same _

_Am I only dreaming _

_Is this burning an eternal flame _

_Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling _

_Do you feel my heart beating _

_Do you understand _

_Do you feel the same _

_Am I only dreaming _

_Is this burning an eternal flame _

_Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling _

_Do you feel my heart beating _

_Do you understand _

_Do you feel the same _

_Am I only dreaming_

_Is this burning an eternal flame_

_Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling _

_Do you feel my heart beating _

_Do you understand _

_Do you feel the same _

_Am I only dreaming _

_Is this burning an eternal flame_

As the last notes of the song faded, she heard Renee and Rhasaan clapping, but before she could turn to look at them, she heard clapping coming from behind her as well. She spun around, to see Ryan coming from backstage, staring at her as though he'd never seen her before.

"That was incredible. It was like traveling back in time... only without Riley's crazy machine." Then he shook his head slightly. "I can't believe you're not doing this professionally."

"Well," she sighed, "the band was the best part of the experience for me. The music was always second. And when we all went our separate ways, it just didn't feel right anymore."

Suddenly, Rhasaan's voice cut through the intense moment.

"Hey, Ryan! Renee tells me you haven't picked a song yet."

Ryan glanced over at them, self-consciously. "Yeah, I have." He walked over and picked up a briefcase he'd set down by the backstage door. He opened it, and handed Renee a sheaf of papers. "Here, it's an original."

She read through it quickly, and grinned up at him. "It's perfect. But you do realize that since you're the last one to decide on a song, you're going to be the last one to sing, right?"

He froze for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, okay. Just as long as I'm not following Stacy's performance." Then he smiled at her. "I'd get booed off the stage for trying to follow that."

The others began arriving soon after. Gloria had just finished up a stint as Grace Ferrell in a Broadway production of Annie, and laughed when Mickey presented her with a dozen roses in honor of her becoming a star.

Richie came in, still looking like a preppie, and told them all about how he was working towards getting his law degree. Everyone agreed that he'd make a great lawyer. He had the charisma for it.

Devyn, Kenny and Connie all came together, the girls talking nonstop about their experiences at college, and Kenny just content to let them. He seemed like the same laid back guy they remembered, and it all threatened to overwhelm Stacy for a moment.

She looked around at all of her friends gathered around her, and her eyes started to tear up. "We can't let so many years go by without seeing each other," she told Renee, as they began setting up the refreshments. "I can't believe how much I've missed everyone."

"And the funny thing is," Rhasaan said, coming up behind them, "it's amazing how close we all live to each other. I mean, we're all living in or around New York City now."

As the hours flew by, they all got up on stage, and took their turns. Some renditions of old songs stood out, like when the girls all decided to sing 'Band of Gold'. And Rhasaan and Mickey's song brought back some good memories. But there were also a few they hadn't done before, like Stacy's song, and a version of 'Hollywood Swinging' done by Rhasaan and Kenny, that got some good reactions as well.

But finally, Renee cued up Ryan's music, and he started up towards the stage with his headset on. Stacy watched as he glanced at her, then sat down on the edge of the stage with his guitar. The lights went down, and the spotlight fell on him. Then the opening chords of his song started, and she felt as though she couldn't breathe.

_My heart skips a beat like never before_

_My knees get weak when you walk in the door_

_I keep thinking maybe this time_

_But I can't speak and I don't know why_

_I dream about you night and day_

_What could make me act this way_

_It must be love_

_The way that I feel_

_Something inside (Oh)_

_Tells me this is real_

_Now I know why_

_It's you I'm thinking of_

_Now I know it must be love_

_Got butterflies and my head's in the clouds_

_Walking on air, and I float through the crowd_

_There's just one thing, pulling me through_

_I've got to get much closer to you_

_Wanna see you night and day_

_What could make me feel this way_

_It must be love_

_The way that I feel_

_Something inside (Oh)_

_Tells me this is real_

_Now I know why_

_It's you I'm thinking of_

_Now I know it must be love_

_Oh Before another day goes by_

_Oh I'll tell you all the reasons why_

_Now I know why_

_It's you I'm thinking of_

_Now I know_

_It must be love_

_The way that I feel_

_Something inside (Oh, yeah)_

_Tells me this is real_

_Now I know why_

_It's you I'm thinking of_

_Now I know it must be love_

_It must be love (Yeah, yeah)_

She heard the others cheering, but she couldn't move. She felt frozen, as if , by moving, she would suddenly wake up and realize that this was all a dream, and she would be back in her apartment, alone again.

"Stacy?" She looked up. Renee was standing beside her. "Stace, what's wrong?"

Then she saw it. Ryan was packing up his music, and heading for the door. She jumped up, and raced after him.


	4. Chapter 4

I only recently got back into this fandom, and was so amazed that with the number of fans that Kids Incorporated had back in the day, that there are so few fanfictions written about them. And this coupling was the most pronounced on the show (even if it was never acknowledged). Of course, there are the shippers that prefer Stacy/Rhasaan, but this is the couple I like. This story takes place in August 2000, and in this AU, the band dissolved after Ryan left, so there wasn't anything after Season 5.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kids Incorporated. If I did, it wouldn't have ended.

How Will I know?

Whyteroze28

Chapter 4

Even though it was August, the evening air felt good, warm enough for shorts but not too warm. She glanced around as she stepped out, and saw him pulling out his car keys.

"Ryan?"

He glanced up, and dropped the keys, startled. "Oh, hey."

"Where are you going?"

"I figured I'd make it an early night. You know." He shrugged, and bent down quickly to pick up the keys. His shoulders turned inward, and she suddenly knew why he was leaving.

"Ryan?" He stood up, looking at her, and she paused for a moment at the guarded expression on his face. "Ryan, do you remember the day we first met?"

He nodded slowly, a small smile on his face. "The day I tried to force my way into the band."

"Yeah, and almost alienated yourself from all of us. But that wasn't what I meant. I remember how fascinated I was by your appearance. You were the most amazing person I'd ever met." She let her mind wander for a moment, remembering just how occupied she'd been, touching his leather jacket, and his spiky hair. Then she blushed, and glanced down at her feet.

"But then," she went on, hurriedly, "I got to know you, and I realized that it was all an act. You weren't _trying_ to be cool... unless it was when there was someone around that you were trying to impress. "You just _were_."

She looked at his face again, and caught a strange, contemplative look. "And then, when I was twelve, we held that Sadie Hawkins' Day dance at The P*lace, remember?"

"Yeah, you were so nervous, because you wanted to ask that... Jason, wasn't it?" he asked. She wondered if she was just imagining the growl she heard as the name slipped out.

Stacy shook her head, and took a deep breath. "No, I was nervous because I was trying to find a date that Renee would approve of... and because my first choice, someone she _wouldn't_ have approved of, had already been asked."

His eyes narrowed. "Oh, really?"

She locked eyes with him. "Yeah, the crush was already there, I just learned to keep it hidden. I didn't want to deal with the overprotective speeches I'd get... Plus there was the fact that _everyone_ treated me like a kid sister. So I just kept ignoring the way I felt, and eventually, it went away... or at least, I _thought_ it had."

"I mean, during that last year, everything was getting so overwhelming at times, that I probably wouldn't have noticed if The P*lace had caught on fire. Or if I had, it would have taken some pretty big flames to catch my attention." She tried to smile, but it felt more like a grimace to her. "And then the band broke up, and it just all sort of faded, like most memories do."

"So, what changed?" he asked, quietly.

"I saw some of the old videos that Riley had recorded, when we were all performing, and I noticed some things that I hadn't before."

"Such as?" His voice was neutral, not giving away anything.

"Such as the fact that even though a lot of our songs weren't supposed to be romantic, I saw that I was getting some damned funny looks from someone I had _forced_ myself to think of as a big brother." Then she sighed, looking down again. "And over the past few weeks I've spent all my time agonizing over whether or not it would have been better to have noticed this then... or to have not noticed it at all."

His voice came closer, and she looked back up to see him walking towards her. "And have you decided anything?"

She smiled up at him. "Yeah. I've decided that I'm not going to let anyone else's opinions matter when it comes to who I like. I've decided that it doesn't really matter what I didn't notice then, because the past is the past. And," she added as she saw his face fall, "I've decided to be a little bit selfish, and hope that the song you just sang was for me, as much as the song I sang was for you."

He stared at her for a second, confused. "But, I thought you just said..."

"Yeah, the past is past. But this is now. And I'm not looking at the Ryan I had a crush on. I'm looking at the man he grew into. The one I'd like to take a chance and get to know. And I know I'm not the Stacy you fell for either. But even though we've both changed some, it doesn't mean that we're completely different. Just that there are new things we need to learn about each other."

He held out his arms, and she leaned into the embrace. It was almost like the ones she remembered, except now she knew the emotion behind them wasn't friendship. Then she heard him murmuring in her ear. "I wrote that song during Richie's Presidential campaign. I kept trying to find the right time to sing it for you, but... there never seemed to be a right time. And then I heard you singing today, and I figured it was now or never."

"Up until I heard it, I still wasn't completely sure whether the things I was seeing on the video were real, or my own imagination," she said, looking up at him. "And then for a moment, when you were singing, I thought 'This has to be a dream'. But then I saw you leaving, and I just _knew_ that if I let you leave again, that I wouldn't get another chance."

He smiled down at her, and then leaned forward. She closed her eyes, and a small shiver of anticipation ran down her spine. Then his lips touched hers, and she realized that was so much better than she had dreamed it would be. As they kissed, she let her mind roam back through the past... just for a moment. Just long enough to truly understand that this was so much better than she could have ever hoped it would be.

Then he broke away, and stared down at her again. "I think they're still singing," he laughed.

She glanced back at the doors of The P*lace, and giggled. "Yeah, Renee decided earlier to let everyone sing as long as they wanted... As long as Mickey didn't mind."

"What do you think?" he asked, taking her hand, and leading her back towards the doors. "Do you want to sing one more, for old time's sake?"

As they moved to open the doors, she smiled at him. "What about... 'Cherry Bomb'? It was a fan favorite."

_When I think back about those days_

_All I can do is sit and smile_


End file.
